Momo Ishiguro

Momo came to NYC after graduating in 2012 at Brown University. She always knew she wanted to work in the arts, but New York was only meant to be a stop over. By day she works at Printed Matter, Inc., the non-profit organization for artists' books and related publications, where she is in charge of fundraising, by night she works on music.

I’ll pick up my coffee from either Swallow Cafe or Express Yourself. 

Zara is kind of my go-to to get my fix when I want something new. There stuff fits me well. I also have a good hoard of vintage and thrift things from when I was more into fashion in high school in the bay area. My favorite thing right now - probably my Topshop choker that I’ve been wearing with everything.

I wake up at 8:30, dress up, drink a smoothie or have some fruit for breakfast, try to make some time to write emails, check the news, do whatever personal/research reading I’m doing that week.

I’ve been singing forever (singing to jazz standards on the home stereo and then choir and a jazz band in high school) and I started writing songs on guitar at 15.

Top, Uniqlo.

Top, Uniqlo; Dress, Vintage.

Top, Uniqlo; Pants, H&M.

It feels much more fulfilling to think of songwriting as more than chords and melodies and lyrics, and think instead about how a particular sound sample or drum pattern strengthens, complements, informs the songwriting process.

The pacing of moving from the ‘70s images to the ‘90s, the personal narration Araki provides about his experience dealing with his wife’s death, the rhythm of the images that sometimes grows quiet when his text stops and you just see streets, playgrounds, rooftops, vignettes from his daily walk to the hospital...that kind of thing kills me, and has a rhythm and intimacy that feels really unique.

I love what Wire Primers stands for - being omnivorous in consuming music that ranges from the popular to the experimental, and having an almost pedagogical approach that encourages people to learn the backstory and think critically about the music and where it came from.